After reviewing the HDD model, Ars now looks at the SSD variant of the MacBook Air. They conclude: "The USD 1300 question is whether the SSD is worth the extra cash. The answer seems to be no. I experienced only moderate gains in battery life and not very noticeable speed differences. The one major benefit of the SSD model is that it doesn't cause the same types of slowdowns as the HDD model during times of high disk activity, and that's certainly a huge plus. Speedy read times are great, too, but they are balanced out by pokey write times. Still, even if it's more usable, it's hard to justify the huge price difference for the SSD model."

Apple's pricing on the SSD is actually right in line with the price of SSD options on competing notebooks. It's adds $1000 to the price of the Air, just as it adds $1000 to the price of a corresponding Sony subnotebook. And at Newegg, they're $1100-$1600 apiece.

The Air overall is surprisingly price-competitive for what it is. With or without the SSD, the Air is about $500 cheaper than a Sony TZ, while being thinner, having a faster processor, more RAM, and a bigger screen, at the cost of 1/3 of a pound of weight of worse battery life.